Return of the Emblem Paralogue One: The Travelers

[Phoenix]

Meanwhile On the Plains

"Ohhhh that's right, Ursians hates dragons," Fizza said in an exaggerated tone.

<"Wha ...?"> Malik immediately turned toward Amon. <"Why didn't you say anything?!">

Amon, looking rather unamused, slowly made his way over and explained along the way. <"I did mention that, but Isis is our only travel option right now anyway."> Then, once he managed to mellow out some, he said, <"We'll just have to be more careful about traveling during the daytime.">

While Amon and Malik went back and forth in rexian, Fizza stuck to common for the moment and replied to Jamilla and Alphonse. "I'm Fizza, former Tide assassin. The one with the cape is Haythem, a hopeless wyvern rider. The blond is Amon, our goddess appointed leader--until he gets killed or I find someone I like taking orders from better. The red one is Malik--he loves being teased and pestered so go nuts. Last but not least, the 'dragon' is Isis, the most important woman in Haythem's life right now. I think that about covers introductions on our end ...? Oh right, and the sack of smashed up fruits and vegetables over there are our dearly beloved rations."

<"... is she ever serious about anything? Ever?"> Malik asked Amon and Haythem. The latter shrugged while the former stepped over to stand beside her.

Having been introduced as the leader, it was probably a good idea to chime into this conversation himself soon. He had a good opportunity when Angelica asked who they were. That was only partially covered in Fizza's introduction. "We're travelers from Rex-Avaz. We might have used a giant pegasus to get around if there were any but that wasn't an option at the time. Honestly, I was just praying the lack of forearms would tip most people off that Isis isn't a dragon."

[Ether]

"Well, she doesn't give off any magic, so it was easy enough to tell... but there are a lot of people who can't sense that, and around these parts, don't know much about what a dragon looks like, aside from big and scaly... wyverns that size will fit that bill enough to draw attention." Angelica replied, grimacing slightly as Jamilla called her by that incessant nickname.

"Goddess-appointed, huh? It may be presumptuous of me, but you guys aren't just any Rexians, are you? Sancturans, if my hunch is correct..." Angelica trailed off, before a projected glow found her eyes.

"Kyaa, is it true that the whole city is golden so far as the eye can see, with gemstones set in the roadwork, shimmering in the desert sun? Temple maidens set aglow by the constant hue of the Sancturan skies and glimmering architecture, emboldening their already perfect complexions as they make their worship?! Oh, so beautiful it must be~"

[Eail]

The Tide.... that name was familiar, hadn't he heard it from one of his former Rexian allies?

'Tide... Tide... Wait a second, isn't that...'

"So, what is a former Anti-Aisha assassin doing with a group of people from Sanctuary, with a boss that sounds like he was appointed by Aisha herself? Seems like a strange composition for a traveling group." Alphonse commented, then glancing back at his own companions. "...Actually never mind, I don't think I have any basis to say something like that...."

"So are you all on some sort of mission or something like that?"

[scorri]

"Oh, hmm. Assassin, eh? Mind sharing some tips at some point? I've recently discovered that my skills are not quite as up to par as I'd enjoy them to be. I've had the unfortunate experience of getting knocked out by magic too much recently..."

[Phoenix]

Foreigners

"Hey, no one said we were Sancturans," Malik quickly noted to Angelica and Alphonse. "No one said Lady Aisha specifically appointed Amon as our leader, either." Malik grimaced a bit after he said that. It was a little too specific and he probably would have been better served ignoring the Aisha comment altogether.

"Well ... you are sancturans ... and she did appoint Amon," Fizza said, deciding to confirm both points for some reason. To Erion, she said, "Tips? Only fight head to head if you're the decoy. Always be kind to your targets--verbally. Hit a mage in the arms if you can't get a kill in one go. Most of them train with arm gestures so once they lose the use of those, their casting times become much more manageable."

<"Did it ever occur to you that maybe this is no one's business but ours?"> Malik switched back to rexian hoping at least some of the others wouldn't hear.

<"Yeah I did, but I didn't really care. You didn't say it was a secret, so I took some liberties. Haven't you noticed that I've been introducing myself as a former Tide assassin for no apparent reason to pretty much everyone we run into? I like to be unusually forward with people to see what happens.">

<"That is insane; we can't take risks like that, Fizza!">

"Ahem," Amon decided to take over since Malik had pulled Fizza into another argument. "Those aren't exactly questions I can take on easily, especially right now ..." Amon answered Angelica, glancing back at Malik and Fizza. "... and I can't say much about what we're doing out here until we get some kind of consensus going ..."

"We're getting a fire emblem for Aisha since the lady clearly doesn't have enough jewelry," Fizza broke away from Malik for a moment to toss in.

<"What the hell is wrong with you?!">

[scorri]

"Hmm, thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Especially the bit about the arms... With my daggers, their arms will be down for the count for a while." He grinned. "Fire emblem? That whole 'super powerful magical artifact' thing? It's actually a thing that exists? Huh. Who knew? Well, Aisha apparently. I'd ask what she wants with it, but the whole 'super powerful magical artifact' kinda speaks for itself. Sounds like fun. Where will you guys be looking for it?"

[Parrhesia]

They didn't look like they were hostile. Therefore, Wilhelm shrugged and sat back in the wagon, falling into an uneasy catnap.

[Toogee]

Jam smiled as Fizza and Malik bickered between each other. It had been quite a while since she heard her native language. Malik seemed very concerned of revealing too much about themselves, something Fizza clearly wasn't worried about. The dancer decided to join in the conversation to assure them they mean no harm.

<"You have nothing to worry from us,"> Jam said to Malik in her native Rexian tongue. <"We're just a band of mercenaries and travelers trying to get to town. Trust me, we've had enough trouble for the past few days.">

[Ether]

'Fire... Emblem...?!' Well... that changed some things... and confirmations that they were connected to Aisha. If they were too after the Fire Emblem... well atleast they seemed to be a bit conflicted between themselves, and fairly easy to squeeze information out of.

"Super powerful magical artefact? That sounds like a pretty big thing if it's true... it sounds like you could have a lot of fun looking for something like that~" Angelica noted, a singsong tone to her voice, as she listfully edged her way closer to the group... hopefully they had some notes on the matter that she could lift before they likely parted ways.

[Phoenix]

Questing

"Where won't we be looking for it?" Fizza answered Erion's question with another question and a shrug.

When Jamilla came back at them in rexian, Malik sighed. He suspected the girl might have been a rexian and not just well tanned, but now he knew for sure. <"Look, it's just not smart to go around spilling every last detail about what we're doing to people we've only just met. Unless you intend to help us, it's none of your business, friendly or not,"> he explained in an annoyed but noticeably restrained tone. He was trying not to snap at her for what Fizza was doing.

Amon was more interested in Jamilla's mention of trouble in the last few days. That sounded all too familiar and he didn't even have the details yet. Then Angelica spoke up again, seeming all too enthused about the prospect of searching for such a thing which caused Amon to frown. "Many of the people I know of who came looking for them ended up getting themselves killed. A lot of people have fought and died over it, so I'm not expecting to have any kind of fun joining in on all of this ...."

[Ether]

"Oh, but where's your sense of adventure, to go forth into avenues unknown in search of that which you seek? Besides, if so much fuss has been made over it, it must be pretty important, right?" Angelica replied, as she made her way over to Amon, her movements comprising of exaggerated twirls and other overly enthused gymnastics, until reaching the man proper, and quickly clasping his hand within her own, looking up at him with innocent and bewildered eyes, her arms positioned so that they would gently lift and accent her... assets, which from the man's higher vantage point would take some sort of profound obliviousness to not take notice of.

"Hey hey, did Aisha give you any clues? Maybe one of us might know something about it and not even realize it was a huge lead to somebody~" Angelica continued, giving Amon a perky, enthused grin.

'C'mon now, take the bait and spill everything you know, big guy... this could be a huge break~'

[Phoenix]

Roadside Talks

Greta couldn't see anything that was going on from where she was and began tapping her foot impatiently for a moment. "What's takin' them so lon-you know what, I'm just gonna hop down and see what's goin' on for myself." She did just that, walking around to the side of her wagon once she had gotten down from the driver seat. That was when she saw some of her hired help conversing with three strangers while a fourth tended thoughtfully to an enormous mountain wyvern. "What's he feed that thing?" she mused aloud while slowly heading over. She was trying not to be noticed by the rexians but Fizza had spotted her long ago and just pretended not to notice.

Meanwhile, Amon was dealing with yet another dangerous blonde. This was becoming a trend that even he was beginning to take notice of. After an initial reflexive glance, Amon looked up and over Angelica's head for awhile. It was blatantly obvious that he was trying not to look anywhere below her neck but eventually he was able to make eye contact and keep it. "My sense of adventure's pretty much gone now. I've been through a lot and I'd rather not get into any of it right now."

<Finally, someone realizes that just absentmindedly mouthing on about the emblem isn't a good idea,> Malik mused while watching the two talk. <Does she have to be all over him like that though?! Why does this always happen? He's always that guy that they want to play around with.> Deciding to help Amon out some, but for his own reasons, Malik interjected saying, "We don't have any 'clues' but we'll figure something out. Just you leave that to us."

[Ether]

'Well would you look at that, he's shy' Angelica noted, though he didn't really give her a whole lot to work off of... a shame.

"Is something wrong, you keep looking up over my head?" Angelica asked, tilting her head to the side as she did so, bringing herself up closer to Amon as she did so.

"Besides, you'll never find it without a sense of adventure, right? If you aren't willing to go the extra mile, feel the thrill of the chase, you'll never motivate yourself to do what you need to do... someone with that kind of fake drive definitely won't be the one to get something that so many people worked so hard for..." Angelica continued, a veil of innocence hiding any sort of malice she might hold. Then, one of the other fellows chimed in.

"Nothing at all, really? You guys aren't acting like you're looking for something important and powerful."

[Phoenix]

Motivation

"Sorry," Amon replied when Angelica asked him if something was wrong.

"Adventure? Hah, Amon's doing this on Aisha's request. That's all the motivation he'll ever need." Fizza commented.

Malik rolled his eyes at Angelica's next comment and replied, "Looks can be deceiving, lady ... and what has you so interested in our business anyway?"

[Ether]

"Why wouldn't I be interested? You guys show up riding a wyvern in the middle of the Ursian flatlands, introduce yourselves as a Sancturan search party commissioned by Aisha to look for the Fire Emblem... did you expect that no one would care at all?" Angelica replied to the other man, who seemed to be the most sour of the bunch.

"Besides, depending on where you guys are going, we lost someone in a bandit raid a few days ago, and weren't all that sure about our numbers to begin with... it wouldn't be out of the question for us to keep company for a little while, and the more eyes on the lookout for it, the better, don't you think?"

[Eail]

"She said she was searching for a precious gem type thing for someone important to her, probably the emblem itself based of all her reactions to what you're saying." Alphonse said "Oh, and her thinly veiled attempts to seduce you, probably won't work if he's important enough to be sent on a mission by Aisha herself.... just saying." He absentmindedly added.

[Phoenix]

Stuff

<That's why I wanted Fizza to keep her mouth shut, but she just tells people everything as if what we're trying to do is no big deal ...> "Well, that wasn't for your ears or anyone else's, I'm afraid. Fizza here just doesn't know when to quit trying to be funny or cute or just plain annoying." To Alphonse he added, "One person searching for that artifact on their own is doomed from the start, so I doubt it, but I'll admit, we've run into others less interested in what we're up to."

<"Doesn't really matter where we go ... we'll run into some grunts eventually if we just keep poking around,"> Fizza said to Amon. <"Though, tagging along with them is going to slow us down considerably. Just be prepared for that.">

<"... right.> Well ... I'm not sure if you guys would do all that well traveling with us. I mean we're capable enough, but there's the issue with Isis ..."

Finally Greta arrived and, oddly enough, took the rein of the whole exchange once she felt safe enough. "So y'all are rexians, is that right? What the heck are ya doin' way out here and with a wyvern this big no less?"

"Can we PLEASE say the wyvern is our only means of transportation and that we're on a missi-JOB and just leave it at that?" Malik frustratingly put forth.

"... what's eatin' him ...?" she very quietly muttered.

[Eail]

"They're searching for the Fire Emblem, and their friend.... Fizza right? Is a bit loose lipped with info, I appreciate it by the way." He said with a nod towards the purple haired woman. "Now there's talk of us working together, not so much for the Emblem but just moving forward, your choice really boss."

[Ether]

"I mean, it doesn't really matter who's ears it was for, does it? It was said and it's pretty interesting, in my book." Angelica replied, glad that they seemed to reject Alphonse' all too correct assertion... that dunce could have spelled disaster. Though if given some time, it might be a decent idea to try and probe that Fizza woman... she had already revealed her past as an assassin, so the advantage of knowledge should fall to Angelica if a scrap broke out, but hopefully such a thing wouldn't be an issue.

[Toogee]

Jam was a bit put off when Malik told her to butt out. He clearly wasn't happy running into people, particularly when one the them members started spilling details about a supposedly top secret mission. The dancer kindly stepped away from Malik to watch the others' interactions.

Angelica was being especially forward about this Fire Emblem business. Jam thought that she would have enough on her plate with the Fimbulvetr. She'd have to talk to her later about that. For now, the dancer stood next to Alphy and continued to watch.

"So why are these guys so uppity about this Fire Emblem?" Jam asked her bodyguard. "What is a Fire Emblem anyways?"

[Eail]

"The Fire Emblem is a legendary artifact of power, something all nations have tried to acquire at some point or another. I don't know how it works but evidently it's power is enough to make a man seem like a Demi-God." Alphonse quietly answered Jamilla

"If it really exists and ends up in the wrong hands... Well, lets just say it wouldn't end well."

[Phoenix]

We Have An Accord

"Fire emblem?" Greta echoed. Oh lords, we just ran into another group of well armed lunatics. Well, I should at least be polite ... and who knows, if they aren't completely insane, maybe they can provide us a little extra backup on the way to Europa. I'm sure as hell not payin' em all though. My coin's stretched too thin as it is. "Well uh ... good luck with that. What did y'all think about travelin' together for a little while? I can't pay ya, but at least your wyvern's less likely to get shot at if she's with us, and I don't mind sharin' some of our rations."

<"Oh I nearly forgot about that!"> Haythem began circling around to the front of the wagon looking for where the sack of food they'd bought had fallen. It was easy enough to spot and he picked up the sack to see what hadn't been smashed by the fall. <"... huh. So that's how it is ... ... ... stupid softer food murdering grapefruits.">

Meanwhile, Amon tried to answer Greta's question, noting that she didn't seem to mind the giant wyvern. "Are you sure you don't mind traveling with Isis? I mean, otherwise it's fine and we accept your terms, but it just seems a little risky."

"Risky? Yeah right. We got attacked just outside of Urden the other day. Ya think they would have pulled a stunt like that with a giant wyvern taggin' along with us? Your enormous ride there is hardly an inconvenience as long as you can keep it fed yourselves."

Amon did some thinking. It was way too late to get people off of the emblem business completely after what Fizza had gone and done, but he could lay out some terms of his own. "Alright, but on one condition. Let's try and avoid this whole emblem talk. It wasn't really supposed to come up at all and it's dangerous business. That's just putting it lightly."

"Deal!" At least he gets just how crazy this emblem stuff actually is and isn't going to prattle on about it. Fine by me.

[RPG]

Garrimor found himself deeply confused. Talk of a magical artifact was understandable. Insane, but understandable. He was mostly confused and angry at how inferior he felt. These people drop out of the sky and complicated his employment with issues that he couldn't wrap his mind around. He had never bothered to learn about national matters, and as far as he knew, he had never left his country. The realization dawned on him that he might be the least worldly of the bunch. And without being the group leader, he didn't know how to provide input without telling people what to do outright.

At the very least he decided to appear strong and feel superior. "We'll accept you for now," he grumbled towards Amon. "But any funny business and you'll have bought yourself some broken ribs." With a snort, he walked away, thinking to himself: "Garrimor the Great leaves the conversation as the toughest guy of the bunch, and ditches the pansy without giving him a chance to react. And people say I'm not smart!" While walking away, a proud grin started to take shape.

Edited June 12, 2013 by RPG

[roymbrog]

Nimoeph couldn’t hear anything from where she was, but figured whatever was going on would be known to her later, once people returned. Speaking of which, the burly, self-proclaimed ‘Godslayer’ was making his way back. Perhaps it was a longshot to ask him (she held reservations about his intelligence), but it might be a while before anyone else returned and she was interested in what was going on.

The adept stepped from the wagon, Elrey trailing behind, to meet the man partway. He was looking rather smug at the moment, but that seemed to be a normal thing with him so she didn’t think much of it. “Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to know what the deal is with that over there?” she asked.

[RPG]

"Hrm?" Garrimor looked down at the dark-skinned girl who seemed to have suddenly appeared in front of him. "Well of course I know what the deal is! Who do you take me for?" Garrimor might not have understood everything, but he couldn't let this girl know that.

"They're here about the Fiery Emblem! That magical thing that people fight over..." That sounded right. What else did they say? "They were chosen by a goddess to find it and add it to a jewelry collection. And they're foreigners. Clueless foreigners that needed the help of Garrimor the Godslayer! But I turned them down since I have a job already. So they decided to travel with us! And, errr, y'see..." Garrimor's thought process stopped, as he found himself distracted by the small creature behind the girl. There was something enchanting about the dog. Cute even? Without realizing what he was doing, he slowly lowered himself and reached a giant hand out to it.